Define “freakin’ expensive” please: low hundreds? High hundreds? Thousands? With my new house and those high house payments, I may not be able to afford it but it might be cheaper than a road trip to Dallas, Denver or wherever to watch an ELO concert. More permanent too (unless I buy a program or a T-shirt at the concert).

On 24th June 2017, Jeff Lynne transformed Wembley Stadium into one of the greatest rock’n’roll spectacles of all time. Accompanied by his 12-piece band against a dazzling backdrop of pyrotechnics, lasers and a giant illuminated spaceship, for over two hours Lynne performed his group’s most extensive set list to date. From vintage ELO classics such as ‘Mr. Blue Sky’, ‘Evil Woman’ and ‘Livin’ Thing’ to ‘Do Ya’ from his days with The Move, and from ‘Handle With Care’ recorded with the Traveling Wilburys through to ‘When I Was A Boy’ from his latest ELO album Alone In The Universe, the career-spanning concert was performed for a capacity crowd of 60,000 fans.

Chronicling the show’s meticulous production and offering a rare insight into Jeff Lynne’s musical vision, WEMBLEY OR BUST documents Lynne’s historic homecoming in an official book and vinyl set. Limited to only 1,500 numbered copies worldwide, each hand-bound book is signed by the author, Jeff Lynne. He tells the story behind the concert and reflects on each of the show’s songs, drawn from the catalogue of ELO albums that have sold more than 50 million records to date.

The first 350 copies in the edition, numbered from 1 to 350, are Deluxe copies. These copies feature a distinctive blue leather quarter binding with gilt foiling and page edging. Additionally, the Deluxe copies include a specially designed ELO spaceship cutout, referencing the model that came with ELO’s famous 1977 double album Out of The Blue. The 7″ vinyl picture disc is exclusive to the limited edition and features two live recordings from the historic Wembley concert, ‘Don’t Bring Me Down’ and ‘Xanadu’.

For the making of this book, Jeff Lynne’s ELO was dramatically captured in thousands of photographs at Wembley Stadium, taken from all vantage points inside the iconic London venue. The result is a beautifully illustrated volume reproducing hundreds of original photographs, from backstage to front of house, plus tour memorabilia and ephemera.

Deluxe – £495
Collector – £245

According to xe.com, that’s $691.76 and $342.38 respectively. Golly, I better get two, one to read, and one to leave in the plastic wrap!